Orient’s Barry Hearn in showdown meeting

LEYTON Orient chairman Barry Hearn will today meet Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore to discuss his dissatisfaction over the decision to name West Ham as preferred bidders for the Olympic Stadium.

LEYTON Orient chairman Barry Hearn will today meet Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore to discuss his dissatisfaction over the decision to name West Ham as preferred bidders for the Olympic Stadium.

Hearn held an incendiary press conference earlier this week outlining his objections to the way the process has been handled and said the future of Orient was in grave danger if the Hammers moved in next door.

Now he is looking for answers – from the likes of Prime Minister David Cameron and Mayor of London Boris Johnson, whom he has written to, and the Premier League, who would have to ratify West Ham’s plans to move grounds.

A meeting between Scudamore and Hearn is unlikely to be the end of the issue, with the latter threatening a full judicial review if he is left unsatisfied.

“They say they will not grant consent for a club to move grounds if it would adversely effect clubs who have their registered ground in the immediate vicinity,” said Hearn.

“I am meeting Richard Scudamore to see how he interprets his own rules because it seems to me legally challengable should they sanction West Ham’s move without discussion with us about how to guarantee the future of this club.”